AMSURG’s YourSightMatters.com Celebrates Cataract Awareness Month

June 5, 2014

June is Cataract Awareness Month, and AMSURG’s campaign websiteYourSightMatters.com is raising awareness and educating their readers about this degenerative eye condition. YourSightMatters.com has created a “Tools You Can Use” page, which features an infograph full of facts about cataracts and cataract surgery. Readers can share the infograph socially with their friends and family to help increase awareness. We have also developed a “Cataracts Myths vs. Facts” quiz, which allows readers to test their knowledge about cataracts and possibly learn something new. You can find both toolshere. Cataracts affect an estimated 20.5 million people over 40 – about one in six Americans. Over half of Americans will have a cataract in at least one eye by age 70. They are the leading cause of vision loss among adults over 55 – with more cases in the U.S. than glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy combined. In order to focus, eyes use a lens, made up mostly of water and protein, arranged in a precise pattern to keep it clear and let light pass through it. But this protein can clump together over time and cloud a small area of the lens. This cloudy or blurry spot is called a cataract. At first, the blurriness may affect such a small part of the eye that people don’t even notice the difference. But it can grow over time, clouding more and more and distorting the light passing through the lens. Eventually, people with cataracts can have trouble seeing while going about their day. Left untreated, cataracts may impair or cause complete loss of vision. Cataract removal is one of the most frequently performed operations in the United States. Usually an outpatient procedure, it is one of the safest and most effective types of surgery. The process is simple, virtually painless and typically has a rapid recovery time. Many cataract patients wish they hadn’t waited so long to have the surgery! Visit YourSightMatters.com’s newTools You Can Use page to view the infograph and take the Myths vs. Facts quiz. YourSightMatters.com is powered by eye care professionals who are committed to preserving and restoring vision. This coalition represents over 300 ophthalmologists and optometrists plus the nurses and staff of over 50 surgery centers who care for eyes across the United States every day.